Frances’ Alphabet
Almost 10 years ago, for my oldest son Joseph’s second birthday, we wrote a poem about the alphabet just for him.
Actually, we filled in the details of the poem about the alphabet that the badger-girl Frances makes up in the classic children’s book by Russell Hoban, Bedtime for Frances. What was so fun about writing the poem, and so fascinating for us in re-reading the poem now, is that we’ve filled in the poem with references to things that Joseph loved at the time, and also references to events in Bedtime for Frances too.
Frances provided the text for letters A, B, C, D, S, T, and U and we did the rest. I think the poem is enjoyable, and while it’ll be interesting to get some feedback, there’s nothing that will stop it from making me smile.
Frances’ Alphabet
by Mommy & Daddy for Joseph’s 2nd birthday
A is for apple pie,
B is for bear,
C is for crocodile combing his hair.
D is for dumplings,
E is for eggs,
F is for fish, that don’t have any legs.
G is for giant,
H is for hay,
I is for ice cream on a hot day.
J is for jet plane,
K is for kite,
L is for ladybug on her first flight.
M is for mommy,
N is for nest,
O is for orangoutang banging his chest.
P is for puppy,
Q is for queen,
R is for riverboat heading upstream.
S is for sailboat,
T is for tiger,
U is for underwear down in the drier.
V is for van,
W is for wagon,
X is for xylophone played by a dragon.
Y is for yo-yo,
Z is for zoo,
and that’s the end of the alphabet sung in rhyming twos.
